Herald Português

The Bible · 5 chapters · 25 min

The Sower: Stories Jesus Told

c. AD 29–30Galilee and Jerusalem

The story in brief

A farmer scattering seed, a pearl worth everything, a debt no one could ever pay, ten young women waiting with lamps in the dark. Sit in the crowd by the lake and hear the stories Jesus told, with the twists his first listeners caught.

The chapters

  1. Chapter 1 · 5 min · Free

    The Sower

    The crowd is too big, so he teaches from a boat. And he only speaks in stories.

    Sources: Mark 4:1–34; Matthew 13:1–23; 2 Samuel 12:1–7; Isaiah 6:9–10

  2. Chapter 2 · 5 min · Free

    The Pearl of Great Price

    A weed that looks like wheat, a seed you can barely see, and a pearl worth everything.

    Sources: Matthew 13:24–52; Mark 4:30–32; Matthew 17:20; Genesis 18:6; Leviticus 11:9–12; Pliny, Natural History 9.106, 119–121; Digest 9.2.27.14

  3. Chapter 3 · 5 min

    Seventy Times Seven

    Peter wants a number. He gets a story about a debt no one could ever pay.

    Sources: Matthew 18:1–35; 19:13–15; Mark 10:13–16; Genesis 4:23–24; Mishnah, Avot 3:2; Talmud, Yoma 86b; Josephus, Antiquities 17.318–320

  4. Chapter 4 · 5 min

    Eat, Drink and Be Merry

    Bigger barns, empty couches, and a widow who won’t take no for an answer.

    Sources: Luke 12:13–21; 14:1–24; 16:1–13; 18:1–14; Matthew 22:1–14; Isaiah 22:12–13; Exodus 22:22

  5. Chapter 5 · 5 min

    The Wise and the Foolish

    Ten lamps in the dark, a door that shuts, and a king who says: you did it to me.

    Sources: Matthew 24:1–3, 32–36; 25:1–46; Isaiah 58:7; Leo Tolstoy, Where Love Is, God Is (1885)

Who’s who

The people you meet. Each one is a hero card you can collect.

  • The SowerFarmer · Scatterer of Seed
  • The Pearl MerchantDealer in Fine Pearls
  • The Unforgiving ServantForgiven Ten Thousand Talents
  • The Rich FoolBuilder of Bigger Barns
  • The Wise BridesmaidReady at Midnight
  • The Persistent WidowShe Will Not Go Away

What you’ll be able to tell

This story belongs to the journey “Jesus of Nazareth”. By the end of it, you can tell where “no room at the inn”, “turn the other cheek”, “born again” and “cast the first stone” come from.

Stories in this journey

  1. The Nativity: No Room at the Inn
  2. Fishers of Men: Jesus in Galilee
  3. The Sower: Stories Jesus Told
  4. The Woman at the Well: Cast the First Stone
  5. Born Again: Jesus at the Feasts
  6. The Road to Jerusalem: The Good Samaritan

Sources

  • Mark 4
  • Matthew 13, 18, 22, 24–25
  • Luke 12, 14, 16, 18

Bible quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain.

The Bible: every story